Child star with squeaky clean image goes cartoonishly skanky... yeah, haven't heard that before. And I have to love how the people shouting righteous indignation grew up with Alice Cooper, KISS, GG Allin, GWAR, and Marilyn Manson. Now THOSE were shock artists.

Heh, and it's telling that despite a powder keg in the Middle East and contaminated oceans wreaking havoc with the ecosystem, we're mostly talking about a hot mess pop-tart acting like a hot mess pop-tart. Still, I do like this article that uses the incident to reflect on the hypocrisy of American cultural sensibilities: http://www.bust.com/in-defense-of-miley-cyrus-at-the-vmas.html

I think someone once said that the only way shock rock could get more shocking is if a live suicide occurred on stage. GG Allin almost did that. In his twilight years, he kept saying how he'd randomly commit suicide on stage at one of his shows, but he died of a drug overdose before he ever got to do that.

My only concern about the Miley Cyrus thing is that the US is so dead from the waist down, as a culture, that they get upset when a 20-year-old turns out to have a sex drive.

Except the VMA thing was just campy and silly, and I don't see how anyone could regard that as... actual eroticism or something.

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And it doesn't help that Syria has backing from China, Russia, and Iran so any US/Briton strike will turn into a debacle.

IDK. Russia and China support them, but neither would be willing to get involved in an actual conflict. I'd expect a lack of cooperation and some passive-aggressive diplomatic hostility, but nothing more.

Old regime from Iran would be a major concern. Not as worried about the new one though.

« Last Edit: August 27, 2013, 07:16:52 PM by MeshGearFox »

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Fair enough. I mean, the average foreign country hates the US but loves US dollars, and China would be a dead Peking duck without US dollars. Either way, I see it turning into a drawn out, messy conflict that puts further strain on the US economy and THAT is what scares me. The US economy is still in shambles, people are still without health insurance and/or jobs, schools and community resources (i.e. police, fire departments, public works) are getting shafted left and right... Funnel the war machine monies back into OUR country, dammit! I foresee this being another Bay of Pigs, maybe even another Vietnam.

So either way, this is going to be a hotter mess than Miley Cyrus (who was quite the hot mess.)

Russia supports Syria, but China long abandoned any real support and is their ally pretty much in name only. I don't think they seriously care what happens to Syria.

And today the Arab League of States came out and said they would support military action against Syria. That's a pretty big deal. Syria was one of the founding members of the Arab League but they got suspended for their continued use of violence against civilians. Now it seems like even they can't turn a blind eye to what Syria is doing.

Heh, and it's telling that despite a powder keg in the Middle East and contaminated oceans wreaking havoc with the ecosystem, we're mostly talking about a hot mess pop-tart acting like a hot mess pop-tart. Still, I do like this article that uses the incident to reflect on the hypocrisy of American cultural sensibilities: http://www.bust.com/in-defense-of-miley-cyrus-at-the-vmas.html

As far as I'm concerned it's because our news is 100% complete and utter shit and the average person doesn't know any better. They think they're getting enough info/the whole picture and they aren't getting anywhere close to it with the "news".

Also, thinking about things in a nuanced fashion is hard. It is a lot easier to simply pick a side and stick with it. Our brains are wired that way for a reason - nuance did not help you avoid being eaten by a predator. Certainty about a course of action (what's that sound it probably wants to eat me RUN) was usually better than stopping to think about it, even if it turned out you were wrong.

Over time, media have evolved to capitalize on this by appealing to a certain type of sensibility as opposed to some kind of "just the facts" objectivity. One is a lot easier and pays better than the other. Guess which one.

Heh, and it's telling that despite a powder keg in the Middle East and contaminated oceans wreaking havoc with the ecosystem, we're mostly talking about a hot mess pop-tart acting like a hot mess pop-tart. Still, I do like this article that uses the incident to reflect on the hypocrisy of American cultural sensibilities: http://www.bust.com/in-defense-of-miley-cyrus-at-the-vmas.html

As far as I'm concerned it's because our news is 100% complete and utter shit and the average person doesn't know any better. They think they're getting enough info/the whole picture and they aren't getting anywhere close to it with the "news".

Indeed. Seriously, Syrian rebels were caught with sarin gas and this should be blasted to the heavens by every news network in the country. It's entirely possible that the gassing was a false flag operation to get the US involved, and I'd really rather not get involved anyway--other countries can play World Police, too--but we damn sure shouldn't get involved and pick a side until we know who is doing what.

Indeed. Seriously, Syrian rebels were caught with sarin gas and this should be blasted to the heavens by every news network in the country. It's entirely possible that the gassing was a false flag operation to get the US involved, and I'd really rather not get involved anyway--other countries can play World Police, too--but we damn sure shouldn't get involved and pick a side until we know who is doing what.

It's also possible that a cache of chemical weapons was inadvertently detonated for whatever reason, too. Or some other third party.

Whether or not the media's hammering it or not, I don't think many people in the US hold any of the Syrian rebel groups in higher regards than they do Assad. I think the general assumption is that the rebels are pretty closely tied to Al Quaeda, so...

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o/` I do not feel joy o/`o/` I do not dream o/`o/` I only stare at the door and smoke o/`

Whether or not the media's hammering it or not, I don't think many people in the US hold any of the Syrian rebel groups in higher regards than they do Assad. I think the general assumption is that the rebels are pretty closely tied to Al Quaeda, so...

Agreed there. I just think that if the media was pointing this out regularly that politicians would be forced to at least make an attempt at justifying their war-hawk attitudes. Given the low approval rate for intervening in Syria (lower than Congress' approval rate, based on polling) it seems that they don't give a damn if people silently dislike the idea of intervening on behalf of the rebels.